State Focus on Improving Graduation Rates

The Oregon Department of Education has set a target of 100 percent high school graduation in 2024-2025. To meet that goal, they have established graduation targets for the percentage of students to graduate each year leading up to that point. In 2011-2012, five school districts in the greater Portland region did not meet their target for overall high school graduation rate (67 percent). Vancouver was the only school district in Clark County that did not meet the Washington requirement.

What can a local church do to address that issue? Most high schools are in desperate need of mentors for students who are struggling with academic or personal issues. Churches can provide volunteers to work with individual students through existing programs such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters or The Mentoring Project. After-school tutoring programs and homework clubs also offer a great opportunity to work one-on-one with students.